If indeed this man did act with all of the levels of ineptitude and cowardice that are being alleged, then he does deserve the appropriate amounts of incarcerated time. I heard the story after it was released, and I have been following along with various updates. Now, I am reading the information regarding the trial that has occurred.

Captain Francesco Schettino has been placed under house arrest, being held under the custody of Italian law officials, as he awaits the results of an additional investigation of his actions. Captain Schettino lead The Costa Cruise Ship Concordia, which was involved in a dramatic accident this past Friday evening. The vessel scraped over several underwater rocks within The Mediterranean Sea, causing it’s hull to be breached. The rip to the ship caused it to flood, and eventually to sink. Captain Schettino did not follow along with the time-honored tradition of a captain being the last person to abandon an ill-fated ship, as he escaped to a nearby island before the majority of the other passengers were off of the boat!

Six people are known to have died in this accident. Further investigations into the incident are expected to show that even more people were killed. Currently, between twenty-five and twenty-nine passengers still have not been found!

The Costa Concordia was only 900 feet from the coast of The Isle of Giglio when it collided with underwater rocks. Captain Schettino made an unauthorized decision to sail the ship close to the coast of the island for frivilous viewing purposes. He is said to have done this for the purpose of impressing esteemed passengers, and to give tribute to a retired captain. Yet, this absurd action lead to tragedy, as the ship was wrecked, and lives were lost!

The Costa Concordia was supposed to be worth an estimate of 400 million euros. This last voyage of the ship held roughly 4,200 crew members and passengers. The ship and all of those aboard witnessed the irreperable damage to the ship, seeing as a 160 foot penetration to it’s hull was bored by undersea rocks. Upon suffering the wound to The Concordia, several passengers AND Captain Schettino quickly made their ways off of the ship!

Officials with Italy’s maritime ports state that they ordered Captain Schettino to return to port over ten times, so that rescue efforts could begin. One official has been regarded saying to Schettino, “You get on board! This is an order”! Schettino states that he had been “catapulted into the water” by the force of the accident, yet he did return to begin leading rescue efforts.

As six people are confirmed to have been killed, some of the current numbers are saying that at least eleven people died. Costa Cruises and the coastguard of Italy are working to investigate the reasoning behind The Concordia being brought so close to the coastline, which is documented to be laden with several jagged, undersea rocks. Some reports are saying that the ship’s crew turned against their captain as he made obvious efforts to abandon ship. Now, Captain Schettino’s judgment, actions, and character all are on trial, as the Italian legal system decides whether or not he is guilty of abandoning his ship at a time of mortal peril.